


Your Broken Little Heart

by frozenCinders



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, this is the most important thing i've ever written, uncle braig cinematic universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 15:32:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18471823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenCinders/pseuds/frozenCinders
Summary: Vanitas has an encounter with Xehanort.





	Your Broken Little Heart

"After all this time searching, it's when I stop that I finally find you."

Vanitas locks up at the familiar voice. His back is to the sun, and he watches Scrappers skitter out of his shadow for the first time in a long time. Their numbers quickly grow even before Vanitas turns around, but he keeps them out of Xehanort's sight, quietly willing them to go anywhere else. A couple of them cower behind him.

"Why bother looking for me?" he asks. He's out of breath for some reason.

"Why?" Xehanort seems confused and angry that Vanitas would even ask. "You have a role to play, Vanitas. You don't have the luxury of giving it up."

"I have the luxury of doing whatever I want," he shrugs, though each word feels forbidden.

"That's not what you were created for."

"You don't get to decide why I'm alive," he softly argues. Cold sweat starts to overtake him.

"You dare defy me, boy?!"

Xehanort has his keyblade in hand now, as if he needs it to be threatening. He would know better if Vanitas wasn't wearing his mask.

"I'm sick of you," he says, and although he intends it to be harsh, it's almost too quiet to hear.

Still managing to act like he doesn't care at all about the situation at hand, Vanitas summons a dark corridor just behind him and steps back into it.

"Get back here, creature!" he hears Xehanort call, narrowly avoiding the hand that reaches for him as the portal closes.

The moment Vanitas is safe at home, he breaks down and he's not sure why. He just stood up to Master Xehanort and faced no punishment for it. That should have felt good, he thinks. He should feel vindicated and powerful. He only feels scared. His mask comes down and he frantically wipes at the tears blocking his vision and soaking his face.

Just as he's thinking he's lucky Braig isn't home to see him like this, he hears the front door open and forces himself to quiet down. He shakes with the force of silent sobs he's unable to hold back, and it doesn't take Braig long at all to notice.

"Woah, what's the matter, kiddo?" he asks, and Vanitas is startled by the hand suddenly on his back. It's pulled away when he jumps from it.

He could tell him, but would there be any point? Braig has done more than he ever reasonably should have; Vanitas can't ask him to protect him. Not from Xehanort.

"Does he know where you live?" Vanitas asks, though he takes some comfort in realizing that Xehanort likely still doesn't even know the two are connected.

"Does who? Hey, did someone do this to you?"

He doesn't answer, because nothing really happened to him. He just had a benign encounter that could have gone so horribly wrong and even though a crisis was avoided, he feels as if he has to suffer the consequences of one anyway. He can sense more Unversed climbing out of his shadow. Braig pays them no mind, even if Vanitas tries to keep a paranoid eye on all of them.

"Come on, answer me," Braig prompts. Vanitas hasn't been crying for long, but he feels exhausted. He doesn't know what to do, what to say, so he just takes two little steps forward and leans into Braig. He relaxes when he feels a hand on his head.

"Oh, I'm an idiot. Obviously there's only one person you'd be this scared of," Braig realizes aloud. "Yeah, he knows, but does he know you're here?"

"I don't know. I guess not."

"So what's got you so upset? You have a nightmare or something?"

"No. I talked to him just a few minutes ago."

He wasn't really moving before anyway, but Braig seems to freeze at that.

"Now why the hell would you _talk_  to him? You see him again, you come get me, alright?" Braig instructs, and Vanitas looks up at him in genuine disbelief. Not the incredulous kind as much as a defeated assumption that he's being lied to.

"Why?" he asks, unable to come up with anything else.

"What do you mean, why?"

Vanitas has to take a minute to get his thoughts together.

"Why would you... put yourself out there for me? What do you have to gain?"

Now, Braig's disbelief is purely incredulous.

"All this has been fun, but it doesn't mean anything, right?" Vanitas continues, breaking eye contact to press his forehead against Braig again. "It's not like we're really related. You only do stuff because you think it's funny. How is getting hurt because of me going to be fun?"

"As if. "Not really related"-- keep talking like that and I'll have to ground you, kiddo," Braig says with an uncharacteristically firm hand on Vanitas's shoulder. "I told you you can think of me as family, so don't you dare act like I'm not supposed to protect you."

His crying had paused, but Vanitas feels hot tears falling again. There's something gentle about it that he accepts. He doesn't say anything, but he brings his arms up to wrap around Braig.

"It's the old man who's a pain in the ass, not you," Braig assures him as he returns the hug.

Maybe, Vanitas thinks, he has a right to feel safe. The means are right in front of him anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> title is from o children by nick cave & the bad seeds because it's stuck in my head


End file.
